“Jul, do you live here alone?”

“Y-yes.” There was no masking the hesitation in her answer.

“Is this your home?”

Julie shifted the car into park and faced him, the engine still running. “I brought you here to my house. My home. And I know you’d like to talk, get to know me, but not just yet. Not right now.” Her eyes moved to the house before coming back to his. “I have nothing to hide and everything to hold on to.”

Her audible swallow nearly gutted him. What the hell had happened to the beautiful woman who’d already stolen his attention and unknowingly laid claim to his thoughts? “Julie—”

“Maybe it would be better if we went back to your place after all. No harm, no foul.” Her upper lip slid between her teeth for a beat as she wiped imaginary dust from the center console. “Because as much as I want you, I’m not sure I’m ready to do this here.” Her steely gaze darted to the single-family home at the top of the driveway before coming back to his. “This”—she pointed between them—“is supposed to be fun. That”—she nodded at the house—“is the real me. Let’s go back to your place.”

Emotions whipped through Danny like a hurricane, from sympathy for the unknown pain the woman next to him had faced, to anger for the hurts she’d dealt with, to lust for the sexy woman who brought out every protective instinct he never knew he had. Again with the caveman shit. I’m screwed. “Turn off the car, woman. Let’s go inside and take it slow.”

She blushed. “Oh, you misunderstood. I…umm, I totally want to have sex with you. I have an orgasm to repay, and since you’re sober tonight, I’m betting you have a few things you could show me? I just hoped to save the talking until after playtime, okay?”

“Fuck.” He gritted his teeth. “Yeah, honey, I think I can agree to that, but—and I can’t believe I’m about to say this—the ‘get to know you’ portion of the evening will not be forgotten, no matter how hot our fire burns. Get it?”

With a curt nod, she pulled the keys out of the ignition.

“Words, Julie, I need words.”

Once again she turned and faced him. “I promise I’ll let you into my mind as soon as you’ve satisfied my body.”

“Fuck me.”

Chapter Three

I Wasn’t The One Who Needed Help

SHE ENTERED THE well-lit, quiet house the same way she did each night. The only difference was the large hand resting on the small of her back. The heat from his touch penetrated her sweat-dampened tank top, making goose bumps blanket her skin.

“You cold?”

She let the question go unanswered, knowing damn well the cocky sergeant knew her physical response had nothing to do with the ambient temperature and everything to do with the slow boil his touch seemed to generate.

“This is some place you’ve got here.”

His statement was filled with questions. How could it not be? They hadn’t shared their ages, and even though she sometimes felt decades older than her almost twenty years, she certainly didn’t look it.

“Thank you.” Unready to hit the hard topics just yet, she needed to shift his focus. “Would you like something to drink, maybe an iced tea or lemonade?”

Mission accomplished. Danny’s mouth ticked up. “Love some iced tea, please.”

She beckoned Danny as she strode into the kitchen. She pulled two mason jars from the cabinet and the pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator, all while feeling the weight of his stare on her every move.

“I hope you don’t mind it sweet.” She gestured to the pitcher.

“Drink it sweet, drink it tart”—his gaze dropped to her lips—“cool, hot…just want it on my tongue, Jules.”

Julie blinked twice, then swallowed loudly. For a woman who poured drinks for a living, never had the task been so difficult. It was obvious when Danny saw his words had the desired impact because he chuckled. The sound was warm syrup over hotcakes—smooth, liquid, delicious, and setting her ablaze.

Facing each other, they stood at the kitchen counter. While he seemed to marvel over the glass pitcher in her hand, thoughts of him sifted through her mind. He was the hottest man she’d ever seen and the only one she’d brought home since her parents had left. What it was about him she didn’t know, but something was screaming that she should trust him. She wanted nothing more than to listen to that voice.

Rolling up on her toes, Julie pressed a kiss on Danny’s cheek, then turned her back, leaving him in the kitchen with his half-filled glass in hand.

“I need a shower,” she called over her shoulder. “I’m a sweaty mess.” The knot in her stomach tightened as parts of her wished she could disappear from the brazen behavior. Other parts bloomed, coming free from restraints she’d never realized she wore. “Invitation’s open.”

“Goddamn,” he muttered as the sound of glass clunked in the stainless sink and the facet turned on.

She waited a second while he must have been cleaning their glasses. When the water turned off and his heavy footsteps thumped around the linoleum, she hurried up the stairs. Julie covered her mouth to mute her giggle as she bounced into the bathroom. She was in trouble when it came to Danny Marcus. Her heart wasn’t beating double time because he had rinsed their drinking glasses and possibly put them away, as if he’d already found comfort amongst her things. She hadn’t welcomed a man into her adult life, let alone her home. Therefore, the ease they seemed to find with one another had her insides twisted and melting all at once.

Hot spray pounded on Julie’s tired muscles. Four consecutive twelve-hour shifts had definitely done a number on her feet, not that she’d ever admit it to anyone. Hell, she’d been ready to work another double the following day had Chester not forced her to take the time off.

She poured a generous amount of Gee Your Hair Smells Terrific shampoo onto her palm and massaged it into her long locks. Thoughts of Danny walking around her home, amongst her things, unnerved and thrilled her all at once. While his presence was large, it wasn’t intimidating, even on the car ride back to her house earlier. The air snapped with his mere being, but not once had she felt suffocated by his existence.

“That invitation still open?” A rough voice asked through the glass shower door.

The question startled Julie, although she recovered quite nicely. “Only if you’re willing to scrub my back.” She stepped under the spray to rinse the shampoo from her long tresses as the door slid open, bringing cool air to her hot skin.

“You asking if I mind touching your naked skin?” His seductive tone felt like steam hugging every inch of her form.

Slowly she opened her eyes. His muscular body filled the shower stall as desire showed all over his face.

“Fucking gorgeous.” His tongue slicked over his bottom lip. “Every single inch of you is perfection beyond dreams.”

Funny, she thought, as she took in his nakedness for the first time. “I think I know exactly how you feel.”

Wetness that had absolutely nothing to do with the shower pooled between her thighs as a heavy throb pulsed deep in her core. They hadn’t even touched, and already her body responded to his like iron to a magnet. Need pushed her closer, wanting to connect with the one thing meant to truly hold her tight. Him.

Beads of water splashed against his chest before rolling over each defined ab. Despite the moisture surrounding them, Julie’s mouth went desert dry as she stared wantonly at the length that rapidly thickened between his legs. She wanted him. All of him. On her skin, beneath her touch, inside her. Her hunger seemed just as desperate as his desire.

“You keep staring at me like that, honey, and we won’t make it out of this shower. Hell, we won’t manage to get clean.”

Ogling him from toe-to-top once more, she shrugged. “I’m not sure I have a problem with that.”